This invention relates to conveyors of the slat type construction, and particularly to an improved slat for slat conveyors handling dry bulk materials.
While slat conveyors have been employed for handling a variety of products, the problems with which this invention is concerned will be discussed in relation to the handling of a bulk material, such as tobacco or food products.
In the past, slat conveyors of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,259,228 have been used to convey dry bulk materials such as tobacco. Such patent is incorporated herein by this reference for background. While such slats have proved very useful, small particles of dry bulk materials work their way through the spaces between the slats. Such particles then fall onto the lower return slat run, onto the chain drives, and onto the end pulleys or sprockets, take-up mechanisms or the like. These particles are compacted and must periodically be cleaned from the conveyor apron and its components to prevent stoppage or excessive power drag. This cleaning requires undesirable system downtime.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a slat conveyor apron which prevents conveyed materials from leaking between the slats in the conveying run onto lower conveyor apparatus. Another object of this invention is to provide a non-leaking slat conveyor providing an improved continuous apron suitable for handling dry bulk material.